What makes the difference between those who flourish in a sales career, and those who struggle?  It is probably going to be one of the points you will find below.  Read this and let me know what you think. Why can’t Johnny sell?  Let me count the ways….

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We all know great looking sales people or sales position candidates like Johnny, who have the appearance of premier sales professionals.  You can line them up and it would look like a privileged and capable sales force ready to distribute any ready product in any sales territory.

The truth is that Johnny and many of these candidates will fail.  Failure should not be a bad word in sales; it should be known as the occupational filter that it is.

A great education, a solid appearance, a good product, and skills training are all things that should help, but there are some important things that play heavily on someone’s ability to sell effectively.

Not For the Faint of Heart

Sales can be lucrative as a profession, but when you are without a couple of these skills or attributes, you are going to be at a disadvantage.

Johnny will continue to struggle or even fail if he:

• Does not want to be in sales, and is unwilling to adapt
• Doesn’t communicate effectively
• Cannot form meaningful relationships
• Avoids success by avoiding the most uncomfortable aspects of the sales job
• Repeats the same unproductive activities over and over again
• Frankly does not want to put in the work
• Cannot deal with measurement and competition
• Does not have a winning attitude

Does not want to be in sales - If you do not what to be in sales, and are unwilling to adapt to it, you are in the wrong place, and won’t be there for long. If you just need a job, find something else to do.   As a sales manager, one of my interview questions was, “If we choose another candidate for this position is there a job in this organization that you would elect to do if that position is available?”  If the answer was yes, that individual wanted a job, not a sales position.  They lose in the job search!

Doesn’t communicate effectively – This one is not just the spoken word, but the presentation particulars as well.  Communications skills, including listening are ultra important.  For those of you who do it well, you probably take it for granted, but for many other sales professionals communication skills are not top notched. Johnny cannot show well against those who perform on a high level.

Cannot form meaningful relationships – You have heard me say it before, “Relationships are everything” when it comes to most professional sales.  You might refer to Black Sales Journal 1/13/2011- Deepening Your Customer Relationships for more information on this important topic.  Relationships give you preference, and preference in a business relationship is where you want to be.  You don’t ‘work’ the relationship angle, you live it.  If you develop enduring relationships you will benefit for years.  Relationship skills make all of the difference in the world, and are a major reason why some reps cannot sell.  In a sales environment that requires implicit trust such as a large ticket sale situation, you must be able to develop relationships that give preference.  This kind of preference is important, as it ‘trumps’ racial preference as the buyer knows and trusts you.  But there are people that have a tough time with relationships, and have not mastered the process of developing relationship basics.

Avoids success by avoiding the most uncomfortable tasks – You will not be successful if you avoid the tough stuff.  Prospecting is a good example.  Avoid prospecting on Tuesday, and something might come up on Wednesday, then you have a sales meeting on Thursday.  You have successfully avoiding sourcing prospects for 3/5ths of the week.  This activity is something that you would want to do almost every day.  Avoidance happens, but not for long, as you will begin new job hunt activities if you continue to avoid important tasks.

Repeats the same unproductive activities over and over again- Whether it is the habitual coffee break, long lunch, or even Friday afternoons off, unproductive activities have a way of repeating themselves.  The consummate professional has an ability to stop this madness and focus on productive activities.  Many sales professionals review the weekend with colleagues on Monday morning.  What can be more unproductive than a review of everyone’s child’s soccer games when money and a job hang in the balance?

Frankly does not want to put in the work – There are those reps, which appear lazy, but in truth it normally is something less vexing such as the point above.  This individual  ”avoids” success by avoiding the most uncomfortable tasks.  Laziness does find its way into many sales reps lives, and usually they get away with it for a while because of the requirement that they work without close supervision.  If you don’t want to put in the work, get out of the way and let someone else have a chance.

Cannot deal with measurement and competition – There are many individuals that quickly find that they are in the most measurable job that exist.  Being constantly measured and in competition with their peers gets to them and distracts them from cold calling and building relationships.  It does not seem as impactful as some of the others above, but it makes a difference.  You can be a ‘social worker’ in many different occupations, including management, but you cannot afford to feed the hungry and take in the needy in sales, as you are going to be measured objectively for the most part.  Lack of mental toughness in the face of the competition is the reason many falter.

Does not have a winning attitude – I saved this one for last as it speaks to why many sales professionals don’t make it.  You have to have perseverance and a belief that you will prevail.  A positive outlook is the most important ‘attitude’ that you can carry with you on a call, and in the office.  I know that this sounds light, but armed with a positive and winning attitude you can do so much.  I know a Black sales professional who I mentor (I will call her JP) who keeps a positive outlook through difficult situations.  The employer sees it, the customer recognizes it, and her family feels it.  The sales professional wins in the end.

Is There A Magic Pill for Johnny?

If you have some of the problems above you can still find success.  If you have all of them, you might want to consider another occupation. If Johnny should not be in sales, it is understandable.  Many of us cannot be successful engineers.  Review this post, BSJ 2/23/2012– The Smartest Person in the Room, to understand why.

This list is not exhaustive, but contains the major reasons. Black sales professionals can conquer so many business and societal ills on the basis that they are strong and adaptable.

Put these points to use and make the difference.

Think about it…your utility as a sales professional is partially based on the benefits you bring to the customer.  You cannot escape the fact that there may be equal, or even superior products out there. There may be better services, and for sure better prices.  Remember that you have to bring something that others don’t deliver.  Piece of mind is just that important!

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A very successful sales professional once said to me, “The most important thing I can do is to have some true relationship time with my most important customers.  My objective is to determine what problem or future concern is keeping them awake at night.” She then stated, “If I can figure that out, I can give them something that they have not been able to get from anyone else, peace of mind and rest.”

Hmmmm, there is some truth to that isn’t there?  The problems that clients have are not limited to making money and having a sound balance sheet today, this concern goes into the future.  Our customers have a multitude of things on their mind, and most of them have nothing to do with the products that we sell.

Our job is to probe discretely and listen actively to determine if there is anything in the dialog that gives us an understanding of the customers biggest, most pressing concerns.  Help the customer solve pressing issues using your product, and when your product is not enough, use your knowledge and resourcefulness.

If you are able to solve them, you have cemented a stronger relationship that is security in itself.

A Real Life Example

This individual sold financial products.  This included business life insurance products and pensions and retirement instruments.  Here is how the story played out:

My friend, who I will call Deb, worked with a fairly large organization that was a leader in selling financial products to businesses.  Her relationship with the customer was 3 years in tenure, and solid in terms of openness and sharing of information.  She was in his office for a review of her products financial results and overheard a conversation regarding the turnover that her customer was having regarding their employees for the last 2 years.  It was getting worse, and once they finished training a new employee, it was often less than 18 months before someone snatched that employee from them.

While at a business lunch the following week, she shared that she overheard a conversation about this issue.  His response was that employee retention was a huge issue, and that the cost of hiring and rehiring, training, and downtime were taking a huge financial toll on his organization.  Bam! Do you doubt that this problem was keeping this individual and potentially others in his organization up at night?

They discussed some of the reasons that this might be happening, and the customer volunteered that much of this was the result of his location being far from the main town, as well as the fact that his major competitors were offering ‘sign on’ bonuses for skilled employees.  He advised that he was not in a position to offer anything like these bonuses, as it was fundamentally wrong, and way to expensive.  Deb stayed on this one and with help from one of her contacts at the organization determined that the hiring and training cost for a new employee averaged 32% of first year wage.   She scheduled an appointment and advised that they could save money by doing the following:

Initiate a profit sharing plan (Deb’s company’s main product) that the company’s employees could begin contributing to after the 1-year mark.  She urged them to make a matching employer contribution that would get interest from the employees and keep good participation in the plan.  Additionally she suggested that they should talk to their accountant about the possibility of reimburse their employees for their some of their travel costs as it was a factor in the turnover.  The costs would be minimal if the turnover abated according to Deb and the organizations financial people.

Deb’s point was that although they did not want to offer incentives, that they were paying for it anyway in training costs.  They were training for their competition.

They bought the concept of the employer matching profit sharing plan and they also started a plan that compensated employees for some of their travel costs.  This one sounds pretty simple, yet the important part is that this is what was vexing the customer.  It sold and made them happy even though Deb’s only portion was the profit sharing (401k).  The whole package was the attraction, and the employees embraced it.

What Did Deb Do?

It was pretty simple in the end.  She found something that was problematic, and she helped to fashioned a solution.  That is what a true sales professional does…. solve problems! She didn’t have to do anything earth shattering or magical.  It took time and patience to put together, yet this paid dividends.  She got them to realize that it would be good money to spend.

Her solutions beyond those products that her company could offer, they were designed to move the customer past the problem with simple solutions.  Deb made a good amount of money using tactics like this.

What Should You Do?

Be vigilant as to what problems your customers have.  Listen with the intent of knowing what you might be able to help solve with your product, but also what might help your customer even if you (or your company) are not going to benefit.

If you do the following you can help your customers profit, and you will as well:

• Listen attentively (Black Sales Journal 8/14 – Are You Listening to Your Customers?)
• Find solutions …Then deliver solutions (Black Sales Journal 6/20 – Deliver Solutions…Then Sell)
• Seek feedback (Black Sales Journal 8/28  – Should You Ask Your Customer For Feedback?)

Be a visionary and see past what your product does.  Solve problems and secure trust and your customer’s dependence on you.

You cannot do much of this without a good relationship (Deb had one before she knew about the problems).  Make sure that it is solid and realize that if you are not solving the customer’s problems, someone will. If you are spending time with the customer outside the office, you will find it a great tactic to use to get to the heart of many of the problems that the customer might even take for granted if he or she is sitting in the office when you talk.  A relaxing medium such as a restaurant or bar can help.

Be a problem solver and reap the benefits.  Please contact me with any questions

Master the Relationship!